Southwest cheapest for 4th July travel...

[swamt]

Like I have said, when all fees are included, Southwest is usually the cheapest.  When people search for just ticket prices sometimes SWA is not the cheapest, but when you add in all the fees there ends up being a big difference.
 
Cheapest airline for Fourth of July revealed: Delta and United the worst, and the best option is ...
 
Looks like Delta and United are tagged as the worst out there.  One example;  SWA's price to board first and pick your seat is a whopping $12.50.  The cheapest seat selection from JB (in this article) is I think $80 bucks.  Cheapest seat pick or upgrade varies from $56-$80 on all the other airlines.  Just wanted to point this out as alot of folks argue over who is the cheapest, and as I have said from the get go, when you include all fees and the final one way or round trip cost Southwest will be cheaper most all the time.    Actually wondering how this same type of compare will turn out with flights out of Dallas LF where all 3 carriers will be flying to, SWA, VA and Delta...

 

[eolesen]

Mostly true on the fees, but every one of the other airlines has a way to get out of the bag and seat fees. I'm permanently exempt as a million-miler on AA, so it's a no brainier when I do a comparison. In addition to tier status, if you have the UA MileagePlus Visa or pay the subscription for priority access, you also get choice seats for free. I suspect DL has a similar deal with the SkyMiles Amex.

Also... A minor nit with your comparison.... Early Bird is great, but not quite the same as picking your own seat, especially if there is high demand. I don't know if there's now a cap on how many they offer, but at one point it wasn't limited, and people paid to get a B or C group...

http://crankyflier.com/2009/09/04/the-good-and-bad-of-southwests-earlybird-check-in/

If you want to compare apples to apples, look at the BizSelect fares for a comparison. Those absolutely guarantee you early boarding, but will cost more than the $12.50 you mention...

 

[swamt]

Good points made E. I was just trying to point out that the all in rate, most of the time is cheaper with SWA.  Frequent flyer miles and best customer bonuses etc not sure about.  My point was probably more directed to the leisure traveler who mostly looks for the best deals and also at last minute...

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

...My point was probably more directed to the leisure traveler who mostly looks for the best deals and also at last minute...

 
Leisure travelers also book on Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, I noticed that they are completely missing from that article for some reason

 

[swamt]

 
Leisure travelers also book on Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, I noticed that they are completely missing from that article for some reason

So do some research and prove me wrong.  Make sure you add ALL the fees for a side by side compare...

 

[WorldTraveler]

and yet other carriers, including DL, get higher revenue even before fees are included.

WN is perceived as cheap, reliable transportation. The NYC metro and CTA is perceived in much the same way.

 

[eolesen]

I've never seen the CTA referred to as either cheap or reliable....

 

[Ms Tree]

 
Leisure travelers also book on Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, I noticed that they are completely missing from that article for some reason

I've flown Spirit to SAN because they were the least expensive by far.  I hated every minute on them.  The nickle and dime attitude gets old.  I cannot wait for Nov when SWA starts flying non-stop out of DAL.  With any luck I will never see DFW or any of those airlines again.